Never Useless To Those Who Care About You
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: When bully Portal Masters bother Kairi, Thumpback steps in to comfort his girl. Done as a request for antaurilover685. :)


**antaurilover685, who owns Kairi, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)**

 **Skylanders belongs to Activision. I only own Rachel and Crystal.**

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 **Never Useless To Those Who Care About You**

Rachel sat down on the steps of the Academy, her mind on what had transpired earlier. She and Kairi had been talking about their love lives when some of the bully Portal Masters had come up to them and turned their attention to Kairi, saying one of the meanest things they could say.

They had told Kairi that her powers were useless and that she couldn't beat Kaos with her powers nor save anyone with them. Rachel had sternly told them to go away, but when she had turned to Kairi, the Water Portal Master was running away, making the Tech Portal Master glare at the bullies.

She now sighed and her head hung as she tried to think of whether to report this to Master Eon or tell Kairi's partners. She knew that Thumpback would be furious, as would Splat and Dreamcatcher. "Rach!" She heard suddenly. Looking up, she barely had enough time to brace herself as Crystal ran into her, body-slamming the older girl, who grunted at the impact and took a moment to get her breath back as she watched Crystal hide behind her.

"What is it, kiddo?" She asked her little sister.

"Shh. I'm hiding from Spitfire," the little girl said.

Rachel looked at her. "Why are you hiding from him?" She asked in confusion.

Crystal wasn't able to answer because right then, Spitfire gently grabbed her, making her give a startled shriek and making Rachel almost jump out of her skin as she looked at the Fire Supercharger. "How in the world did you get behind us?" She asked.

"I took the hanger back into the Academy," he answered as he held the young girl in his arms as she playfully squirmed, still giggling. "She thought she could scare me by pouncing on my tail."

"Did she scare you?" Rachel asked in surprise.

Spitfire actually turned a bit red. "Yes," he admitted. "And now that I have her, she needs to be tickled."

Crystal giggled and tried to squirm away as her Supercharger partner tickled her, making Rachel smile as she watched before their playing actually gave her the perfect idea and she stood up, making Spitfire look at her as he let the younger girl up and held her in his arms. Rachel surprised him by hugging him and she kissed her little sister's forehead affectionately. "You two just helped me figure out what to do," she said and quickly moved away. Spitfire looked confused, as did Crystal.

"What did she mean by that?" The seven-year-old asked.

"I don't know," the Fire Skylander admitted. "But she did look like she was deep in thought before we arrived."

The little girl hugged him before grinning up at him. "Can we play hide-and-seek, Spitfire? Please?" She asked.

He noted they had an hour and a half before Crystal would need to get to the Life Temple for training with Boom Bloom. "Okay," he said. "We've got time before you go training."

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Rachel was in the Water Sensei Realm, searching for her friend and for a certain Water Giant, but could find neither of them. She exited the realm and went to search near the Elven Tree Forest and spotted Splat and Echo, who noticed her and went over to her. "Rachel, have you seen Kairi?" Splat asked her.

"No, I've been searching for her," Rachel answered.

"What happened?" Echo asked.

"The bully Portal Masters told Kairi that her powers were useless."

Both Skylanders looked ready to explode at that. "Any idea where she is?" Splat asked.

"I checked the Water Sensei Realm, but didn't see her or Thumpback," Rachel answered. "Let's check the lakes and oceans. Knowing Kairi, she probably went for a swim."

They instantly agreed and the three began searching for their friend.

Kairi was in Rainfish Rivera, sitting on the beach just under the wooden bridge that could been seen when visitors first arrived. She sighed and drew closer to the water, letting her bare feet slip into the cool water and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Why don't you come in, my lovely mermaid?" A familiar voice asked and she opened her eyes to see Thumpback in the water and he smiled at her.

"Where did you come from?" She asked, smiling.

"I came here for a swim," he said. "But then I saw you looking like you wanted to be alone, which only happens if you've had a bad day or if someone said something to you."

"The second," she said.

Thumpback gently grabbed her ankles and very gently tugged her closer to him, picking her up and floating back into the water, holding her lovingly. "Swim with me, my lovely mermaid," he said softly.

Smiling at him, Kairi closed her eyes and her legs turned into a mermaid tail and the two began swimming around with Kairi doing some new tricks that made Thumpback cheer loudly for her and he even caught her after she had done a graceful leap out of the water. She giggled as he held her close and kissed her deeply. She gave a pleased moan and sank into his arms as he gently broke the kiss. "Kairi, was it the bully Portal Masters?" He asked gently.

She nodded. "What did they say?" She heard him ask.

The Water Portal Master sighed. "They told me my powers were useless," she said.

He tightened his hold on her a little. "That's very untrue," he said. "Your powers aren't useless and neither are you."

"Kairi!" A voice called out and they saw Splat's Splatter Splasher pull up close to them and Rachel, Echo, and Splat stood in the boat, looking relieved that Kairi was alright. "We've been looking all over for you," said Splat.

"Are you okay, Kairi?" Rachel asked worriedly.

She nodded. "I'm better now," she said. "At least, a little better."

Thumpback held her closer. "Kairi, those bullies were wrong," he said. "Your powers are very useful."

"He's right," Rachel said. "Your healing powers have come in handy more than once to heal us and our partners when we've been injured in battle."

"And you can become a mermaid," said Echo. "That's something those bullies can't do."

"And you have a Siren Song like Echo," said Thumpback. "Which is something I love to hear."

Kairi looked at him. "Really?" She asked.

Splat gave a sneaky smile. "Of course he does," she said without heat. "Because your singing puts him to sleep."

Thumpback actually went red at that, making the others chuckle in amusement and Rachel looked up at her friend. "Your partners are right," she said. "Those bullies were wrong."

Kairi now looked thoughtful. "Maybe I should use my Siren's Song on them next time," she said thoughtfully.

"Let me know when you do and I'll help you out," said Echo.

"Same goes for me," said Splat.

"And me, even though I can't really sing," said the Water Giant.

The Water Portal Master smiled at him. "I still love you, even if you can't sing," she said sweetly. "Because your deep voice makes up for it and I could listen to your deep voice all day long."

"Oh?" Thumpback asked with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Will you three excuse us?"

Rachel, Splat, and Echo nodded at the polite request, chuckling when they heard Kairi shriek playfully as Thumpback playfully took her hostage and swam fast, no doubt heading for someplace a bit more private. "Well, looks like she's going to get showered in affection," said Echo.

"Knowing Thumpback, you know he won't let her out of his sight until she's happy and he's kissed her breathless," Rachel said with a smile as she and Echo jumped back into the Splatter Splasher and Splat went back to the controls.

"He'll show her she's not useless to those who care about her," the faun painter said, also smiling.

The three headed back for the Academy while Thumpback took Kairi to an area that was surrounded by rich green moss and kept them hidden from the rest of the Rivera as the Water Giant floated on his back and held Kairi close, one hand gently rubbing her back while she lay still in his arms, hugging him. "Thumpback, are you sure I'm not useless? That my powers aren't useless?" She asked him.

"Yes, I'm sure and no, they're not," he said reassuringly. "You're a strong girl and a strong Portal Master, Kairi. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

She smiled at him and kissed him, feeling him return the kiss before they gently parted. "Thank you, my handsome hunk," she said to him.

"You're welcome, my beautiful Kairi," he said softly as they stayed there for a bit longer, with Thumpback kissing Kairi and holding her and her holding onto him, feeling better thanks to him.

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 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


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